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Tāhuhu
Backbone

When compared to the human physical body the Tāhuhu or backbone serves as the main pathway and acts like the central nervous system of the body which connects all Heke rafter panels. The Mauri-life energy flows downwards towards the poupou carved figures below and is where physical form starts to take place. Each carving represents a certain connection to an ancestor or whakapapa lineage or family tree.

These ancestors are represented as cosmic archetypes through Ngā Atua Māori - Māori gods. It is important to note the word god had a different meaning to the old Māori compared to the European perspective of god. Ngā Atua Māori were perceived as kaitiaki, keepers or guardians of knowledge and wisdom.

As personifications of the elements of nature they served as the physical manifestations of Io Matua Te Kore, the Supreme Being. Because Io itself is beyond the mechanism of human thought, knowledge and all experience, old Māori often referred to Io as Te Kore - the nothingness. The beginning theme of Te Iho Rangi meeting house starts with Te Kore and is emphasized in the Tāhuhu and moves into different phases of creation.